An example of a girl's school in Afghanistan. Conditions of school and environment are paramount in quality education. Photo by SMSgt Temple

I attend USF on a full ride scholarship, as many other students at this university do too I’m sure, and I will admit that without serious financial burdens barring me from an education, I often forget what it would take for me to earn an education if it weren’t for financial assistance. And, more often than not, do I not think about how privileged I am to have even earned a free public education prior to university.

So for myself, and for others, allow me to put this into perspective.

The CIA estimates the United States to have a population of over 310 million people, with about 64 million of its children enrolled in public schools (from kindergarten through high school, with an estimated 17.5 million enrolled at the university level earning various forms of degrees); on average, the American child spends about 16 years in school. The CIA also reports that 99% of this population are literate (as CIA defines it, the percentage of the population who can read and write and are over the age of 15), men and women alike, and that the government budgets about 5.5% of the GDP for education-related expenditures.

Allow us to make sense of these figures now. The CIA reports that about 12 million of Afghanistan’s population are between the ages of 0-14, while in the United States about 62 million are of this age; though in America children over 14 still attend school, for sake of argument we will only consider this age group. Of the 64 million Americans in public schools, 38 million are enrolled in primary schools (before high school, appropriate for our age group selection), which means that about 61% of American children ages 0-14 are receiving a public education; note that the 39% does not necessarily imply uneducated children, as there are many children in America who take advantage of the plentiful home-schooling and private schooling opportunities. On the other hand, based on our numbers, only about 52% of Afghan children between 0-14 are receiving education. The percentages here may not seem much, but the 9% disparity is all the difference between receiving an education in one country but not another.

Also note the disparities in literacy rates and length of education. In particular, Afghan girls are far less educated than Afghan boys, let alone American children. Perhaps to make this more relevant, suppose we select 28% of the American population, and suppose you fall under the other 72%. Suddenly, you go from being able to read this blog entry, to only being able to see symbols on a computer screen with no capability of making sense of any of the words you see. And, if you happen to be a university female student, you also go from pursuing a university degree to probably already having finished your education.

While I’m not female, I don’t need to be one to understand the weight of this difference.

Students at a school near Kabul show donated supplies they received in April from SMSgt Temple's school supplies drive. Quality of education in Afghanistan has improved significantly over the last decade. Photo by SMSgt Rex Temple.

I attend USF on a full ride scholarship, as many other students at this university do too I’m sure, and I will admit that without serious financial burdens barring me from an education, I often forget what it would take for me to earn an education if it weren’t for financial assistance. And, more often than not, do I not think about how privileged I am to have even earned a free public education prior to university.

So for myself, and for others, allow me to put this into perspective.

The CIA estimates the United States to have a population of over 310 million people, with about 64 million of its children enrolled in public schools (from kindergarten through high school, with an estimated 17.5 million enrolled at the university level earning various forms of degrees); on average, the American child spends about 16 years in school. The CIA also reports that 99% of this population are literate (as CIA defines it, the percentage of the population who can read and write and are over the age of 15), men and women alike, and that the government budgets about 5.5% of the GDP for education-related expenditures.

Allow us to make sense of these figures now. The CIA reports that about 12 million of Afghanistan’s population are between the ages of 0-14, while in the United States about 62 million are of this age; though in America children over 14 still attend school, for sake of argument we will only consider this age group. Of the 64 million Americans in public schools, 38 million are enrolled in primary schools (before high school, appropriate for our age group selection), which means that about 61% of American children ages 0-14 are receiving a public education; note that the 39% does not necessarily imply uneducated children, as there are many children in America who take advantage of the plentiful home-schooling and private schooling opportunities. On the other hand, based on our numbers, only about 52% of Afghan children between 0-14 are receiving education. The percentages here may not seem much, but the 9% disparity is all the difference between receiving an education in one country but not another.

Also note the disparities in literacy rates and length of education. In particular, Afghan girls are far less educated than Afghan boys, let alone American children. Perhaps to make this more relevant, suppose we select 28% of the American population, and suppose you fall under the other 72%. Suddenly, you go from being able to read this blog entry, to only being able to see symbols on a computer screen with no capability of making sense of any of the words you see. And, if you happen to be a university female student, you also go from pursuing a university degree to probably already having finished your education.

While I’m not female, I don’t need to be one to understand the weight of this difference.

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About Justin Doromal

I am a student at the University of South Florida majoring in Mathematics, with a side interest in educational improvement and pedagogy. I am literate in French, though not necessarily fluent, and in my free time I like indulging in Korean pop music culture.